The Montgomery County Planning Board issued the following statement regarding comments made by the Montgomery County Planning Director in a local magazine article.
Planning Board Statement March 8, 2012
Before we get started this morning, I must take a moment to publicly respond to the article by Eugene Meyer that appeared in Bethesda Magazine last week, “Past Present and Future,” quoting our Planning Director, Rollin Stanley. The statements attributed to Mr. Stanley regarding certain members of the community, and the sentiments expressed, in no way reflect the views of this Board or this agency. This agency has a responsibility to the public, to invite public participation in the planning process, to encourage public discourse, to solicit the views of all residents of the county, from all backgrounds, and to remain respectful to those individuals and organizations regardless of the opinions they hold. Unfortunately, Mr. Stanley’s comments did not portray these values. It is our experience that the quality of our master plans and other planning efforts is enhanced by input from members of the public. We encourage everyone in the community to continue to participate in future meetings with planning department staff and the planning board.
While we are grateful to Mr. Stanley for the work he has done on behalf of the Agency and for this county to date, we did not sanction his interview with Mr. Meyer, nor do we condone the views he expressed. This Board does not take lightly the potential implications of his words, and we will be taking appropriate corrective action.
This statement suggests that the Planning Board didn't know Stanley was being interviewed for this issue of the magazine. Rule number one for any employee at a private business or government agency: never, ever speak to the press without making sure your supervisors know you are about to do so. If Stanley's supervisors, i.e., the Planning Board, did not know this was going on, something is seriously wrong at this taxpayer-funded agency. Time to right this ship.
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